As the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, allies are mobilizing to provide even more support to Kyiv. While the European Union held a summit in Kyiv to show its solidarity, the United States announced “additional military aid to Ukraine in the amount of 2.2 billion dollars”, reports the BBC bringing the total amount of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine to more than $29.3 billion since February 2022.
This support includes “rockets that could almost double the range of the Ukrainian strike force”, note The Time on his live follow-up to the war in Ukraine. GLSDB bombs (Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb) are “small-diameter devices, fired from the ground, which can reach a target 150 km away and therefore threaten Russian positions behind the front lines”, adds the Swiss daily. They will not be delivered “for several months”, however specified a spokesperson for the Pentagon”.
These new armaments are a response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy , who asked for “sophisticated weapons to help him keep control of the city of Bakhmout, in the east of the country”, notes Al-Jazeera .
The money of an oligarch donated to Ukraine
US Justice Secretary Merrick Garland also announced on Friday (February 3rd) that the United States would “for the first time transfer to Ukraine the money seized from a Russian oligarch”, explains Der Spiegel . The 5.4 million dollars were confiscated from “the influential Russian billionaire Konstantin Malofejew, who would have circumvented the sanctions against him”, explains the German weekly.
On CNN Merrick Garland said:
“Today I am announcing that I have authorized the first-ever transfer of confiscated Russian assets for use in Ukraine.”
For its part, Europe showed its full support for Ukraine during a summit “between hopes and disappointments” on Thursday and Friday, judge in another article La Temps . “For two days, European officials made numerous announcements: new military and financial aid in addition to the 60 billion euros already released, new sanctions against Moscow, training of 15,000 additional Ukrainian soldiers, promise of participation in programs Europeans, establishment in The Hague of an investigation office to collect evidence of Russia’s “crime of aggression”.
A long and winding road to accession
But the EU remained firm on membership. Charles Michel insisted on Friday by saying: “Ukraine is the EU and the EU is Ukraine”, the Swiss daily notes that “the Ukrainian president will have to take his troubles patiently” on the “long and tortuous” road to full membership of the Union.
Europe is showing “great caution, validating Kiev’s aspiration to join the EU by reiterating its commitment to support Ukraine, but gently dampening talks on accelerated membership”, confirms the New York Times . Member states simply pledged to provide “more financial, humanitarian and military support”.
New limit to Putin’s war chest
In the meantime, the EU has “agreed to introduce price caps on Russian petroleum products in an attempt to further limit Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war chest by targeting its main exports”, notes the pan-Arab media Al Jazeera.
Member states “agreed on a price cap on exports of Russian refined petroleum products, which will come into effect on Sunday”, says the Financial Times . The price cap for diesel is set at $100 per barrel and fuel oil at $45 per barrel. The agreement will be reviewed in mid-March, to assess the impact of the cap “both on the Russian budget and on member states”, in order to “take into account its effect on the market, ‘including possible turbulence’”, details the agreement.
